As the value and use of information continues to increase, individuals and businesses seek additional ways to process and store information. One option available to users is information handling systems. An information handling system generally processes, compiles, stores, and/or communicates information or data for business, personal, or other purposes thereby allowing users to take advantage of the value of the information. Because technology and information handling needs and requirements vary between different users or applications, information handling systems may also vary regarding what information is handled, how the information is handled, how much information is processed, stored, or communicated, and how quickly and efficiently the information may be processed, stored, or communicated. The variations in information handling systems allow for information handling systems to be general or configured for a specific user or specific use such as financial transaction processing, airline reservations, enterprise data storage, or global communications. In addition, information handling systems may include a variety of hardware and software components that may be configured to process, store, and communicate information and may include one or more computer systems, data storage systems, and networking systems.
Information handling systems are often configured as portable devices. One popular type of portable information handling system is a notebook computer. Notebook computers operate from battery packs that are contained internally within the chassis of the notebook computer. These battery packs are typically replaceable, so that when discharged they may be removed and replaced with a freshly charged battery through a battery opening provided in the chassis of the notebook computer. Battery openings are typically defined in a side and/or bottom surface of the notebook computer for accepting the battery pack.
High capacity batteries are often provided for use with notebook computers. These high capacity batteries often occupy more space than standard capacity batteries. When the chassis of a notebook computer is too small to completely house a high capacity battery, the battery may be configured to extend outside the chassis. A workable extended high capacity battery solution for a notebook computer typically does not conflict with other features the notebook computer supports (e.g., heat exchanger, fan, hard drive, motherboard, daughter card) and provides an ergonomically pleasing extension of the notebook computer system chassis. Many conventional high capacity battery designs extend from the rear or bottom of a notebook computer chassis. However, a rear extending battery prevents rear docking to an Advanced Port Replicator (APR) and eliminates the rear wall space for input/output (I/O) connections to monitors, mouse, keyboard, local area network (LAN) and modem. A bottom extending battery design prevents bottom docking to an APR or media slice.
A media slice is a component that houses storage media devices (e.g., magnetic disk drives, optical drives, etc.) and that is designed to dock with a notebook computer so that the notebook computer may access the media devices when it is docked with the media slice. A notebook computer typically docks to a media slice using connectors provided on the bottom surface of the notebook computer that connect with corresponding connectors provided on a top surface of the media slice. A media slice may operate from a replaceable battery pack that is contained internally within the chassis of the media slice. The battery pack typically installs from the rear side of the media slice. A media slice may be provided with a chassis that accepts and charges battery packs that are also capable of use within the notebook computer.